It’s easy to overindulge in good food during the holidays, with parties happening left and right and each celebration more festive than the next. Pair it with typical holiday stressors like heavy traffic, shopping rush, inclement weather, and worse—relatives whose specialty is to push your buttons with their unsolicited comments—and you’ll soon find yourself binging. This trap is also called emotional eating.
What is emotional eating?
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According to Mayo Clinic, “Emotional eating is eating as a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness, and loneliness.” The causes may vary—a high-stress job, hectic family life or difficult studies. It can also stem from childhood issues—like when your parents fed you sweets if you behaved well or kept particular food off limits—or diet problems. Research has shown that individuals, primarily women, cope with being overweight by eating more or refusing to diet.
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As emotional creatures, we often view food as a source of comfort, relief, and reward, especially after a hard day’s work. It feels better to eat something delicious than to deal with overwhelming thoughts.
Unfortunately, these tasty treats are often unhealthy, like greasy food, sweets, and junk food. What’s more, whatever relief you feel immediately disappears after taking the last bite. You might even feel worse for consuming unnecessary calories.
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There are more satisfying ways to cope with negative feelings. If you find yourself stress-eating during the holidays, here are some smart tips for breaking the habit.
Identify your triggers.
Awareness of the situations that set off emotional eating is the first step to stopping it. Focus on recognizing when, where, and why you’re doing it, plus the types of food that you’re reaching for.
Maybe you just ended a difficult meeting or met with a meddling tita. Perhaps you were bored out of your wits or experienced a workout plateau. Did you crave a big slice of pizza or a chunk of chocolate after? Recognizing the patterns can help you build a strategy against eating after every stressful circumstance.
Practice mindful eating.
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When you eat, savor each bite instead of quickly wolfing down food. Lessen temptation by making your favorite food less available and eating smaller portions. Prepare healthy and nutritious meals, and most importantly, don’t starve yourself. Those who eat for their emotions tend to deprive themselves of meals, but it’s harder to stop yourself from eating when you’re starving.
Find a support system.
It can feel lonesome and unbearable when you’re learning to cope with your feelings, but you’re more likely to overeat when you’re alone. Reach out to people you trust, like a friend or loved one, who can process your emotions with you.
Talking it out is another way to curb your stress-eating behaviors and ride out any triggering situations. However, if you find that eating your emotions already interferes with your life, it may be time to seek professional help.
Mark your successes.
Positive achievements lead your brain to release feel-good endorphins, which can help you stay on track with your goals. Take note of all the times you manage to control your emotional eating habits and change how you treat yourself—maybe get a manicure, read a book, or play a game on your computer. These are all great ways to relieve stress, too!
Curb emotional eating with PLDT Home
When the emotions rise, and you feel the urge to eat–take a deep breath and find something else to do. Use your fast and reliable PLDT Home Fiber Plus plan to distract yourself! Organize your to-do list online, watch your favorite K-Drama using your Viu Premium account, or log on to mindfulness apps.
Afterward, check in with your hunger and your desire to eat again. If you still want the food, allow yourself to eat but be mindful of the portions. This time, you’re choosing to eat intentionally instead of succumbing to your feelings.